West Bromwich Albion legend Cyrille Regis believes the recent exploits of local rivals Birmingham City and Wolves will help Roberto Di Matteo's side believe they can stay in the Premier League.

Albion won promotion to the top flight for the fourth time in nine seasons last term, but have only managed to avoid immediate relegation the following year on one of the three previous occasions.

Blues and Wolves both managed to beat the drop in 2009-10 after coming up from the second tier and Regis feels their achievement can inspire the Baggies in their quest for survival.

"It is a challenge not just for Di Matteo, but for the chairman and the players to keep Albion in the Premier League," Regis said.

"If you look at Birmingham and Wolves, the local rivals, they managed to do it last year and I'm sure that will give us a lot of confidence that we can do it.

"There will need to be a bit of tinkering with the side, bringing in a few new players to freshen it up. With a few more quality players in, hopefully we can stay up."

With Aston Villa also in the mix, the West Midlands will be strongly represented in the Premier League next season and Regis is looking forward to the battles for local bragging rights.

"That is what the fans what - local derbies, the interest, the banter in the factories and offices," Regis said. "It livens up the place, the local media loves it, the players love it and we want to be the best in the area."

Albion kick off their campaign against champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and will have also travelled to Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United by the middle of October.

It could hardly make for a tougher return to the big-time, but Regis feels Baggies fans will be relishing the prospect of seeing their team take on some of the world's best players.

"That is why we are in there," he said. "It would be great to have what we might call lesser teams, but are there any lesser teams in the Premier League anyway?

"We want the Chelseas, we want the Manchester Uniteds, to test ourselves against them.

"They are fantastic sides with great players, and what our players and fans want is for these teams to come and show their worth, and for Albion to pit themselves against them."

Di Matteo will be desperate to hold on to his best players and has already had to fend off interest in Scottish midfielder Graham Dorrans, who Regis feels will be vital for the Baggies if they are to stay up.

Asked who he thought would make the difference for Albion next term, Regis said: "Without a shadow of a doubt, Dorrans. He is an excellent player and has had a fantastic year. I'm really looking forward to seeing him play."

He added: "Gonzalo Jara has been at the World Cup and I think he is a tremendous player, Chris Brunt has been in the Premier League before and I am looking forward to seeing Ishmael Miller getting back and getting a bit of consistency.

"Then of course there is Simon Cox, who has done fantastically well after coming from Swindon. He gives his heart and his soul to the cause."

* Regis was speaking at The Hawthorns, where he was raising the Barclays Premier League flag to celebrate West Brom's return to the top flight.